Sakura
by an-earl
Summary: 'Ah. Nothing like a bout of angry bone-breaking to get over your post-teaching loneliness. Pathetic.'The seams of 'sensei-ing' frayed quicker than that of leading trained ANBU. Kakashi had grown too accustomed to keeping track of genin. Now he was back to the unglory days. Alone. Set in two-year time skip. Kakashi and Sakura- Mentoring only.
1. Colour me Lonely

**Disclaimer:** This work is in no way affiliated with Maasashi Kishimoto or the Naruto franchise. If I had any stake in Naruto, I would kindly put in word to not milk the series dead. *Especially side eyes _8_ canon episodes of shippuden this year* Please enjoy.

* * *

 **-Prologue-**

 **Colour me Lonely**

"In position."

 _What the?_ The Konoha-nin buckled, surprised by none other than himself. _In position?_

The slight spasm of movement rustled the leaves upon the high branch he was perched on, and his one eye twitched in annoyance. But the few leaves that fell were botched with autumn's touch: not unnatural enough to draw suspicion. The target was still some way away, too engrossed in kicking up undergrowth to cover his trail to notice.

Still, he was taken aback by sheer stupidity, and if it happened to be a competent ninja he was tracking, the thought would have cost him.

 _In po_ - _sition!_

He mimicked again, with a roll of his eyes. It was funny—the voice in his head was some sticky lampoon that practically _dripped_ of disdain: one that would've gotten a few good laughs from uptight ANBU, even as they gritted their teeth. Almost funny enough for him to laugh at himself.

Not _with_ himself. _At._ He didn't.

It had been more than a year since the dissolution of team 7, the departure of Sasuke to Orochimaru, ( _Ah,_ problem children just warmed his cold heart) and Naruto to Jaraiya. Hatake Kakashi traced the man's movement as he neared, double checking, triple checking his description. He watched almost daintily, searching for any visible weapons, an immediate threat.

 _120m._

Since then, Copy-nin Kakashi had been let off—what the good ol' ANBU had less-than-glamourously dubbed—'genin-sitting duty,' and he had rejoined the general forces. Soon after, he'd been thrust back into the daring dangers of solo missions.

 _100m._

Solo missions were fine. Solo missions were his heyday. But the seams of 'sensei-ing' frayed quicker than that of leading units of trained ANBU assassins. Kakashi had grown too accustomed to giving the mark, signing instructions.

 _In position?_ There was no one to steady here, no one to alert, no one to order.

 _80m. Closing in._

No one to back him up. Not even some genin to show off to.

 _50m._

No need for him to keep track of four pairs of arms and legs, including his own, to match up to an overly elaborate, group-devised plan, because 'teamwork.' He always stressed that.

Kakashi stood from his crouch, curling a finger around a kunai. His chakra hastened at will, and he tore his eyes off the target a moment, skimming the surroundings once more.

 _All units clear._

 _Wait—all units? Haah._

He'd calculated it precisely. In a short moment, Kakashi would step over the edge of the trunk, and there would only be an 11m free fall from copy-nin to rogue-nin. _Nice. Simple._ He lifted his forehead protector, pupils contracting in his red eye. He shut it.

 _20m._

 _Gee, you like to take your sweet time, Mr._

The scrawling handwriting on the black envelope handed to him announced: A rank rogue nin. _Might put up a good fight in the end._

 _6m._

He'd factored in the delay time of his fall. Kakashi retracted his chakra from the soles of his feet, and with a slight nod to no one, he leaned leisurely over the edge. The world lurched forward; and the skies were the ground, the grounds, the sky. The wind siphoned back his hair and howled past his ears, rendering him deaf. It stung his right eye, but he kept it clenched open, zeroing in on the exact pressure points to strike, where best to draw blood.

 _Draw blood?_

 _It wouldn't come to that, would it?_

His right eye snapped closed; his sharingan ripped open. Kakashi let go of the kunai in his hand, fully aware that he'd hit the floor faster than it would.

 _1m._

He didn't suspect a thing, the bastard. Kakashi clasped two gloved hands on his shoulder, and the rogue-nin startled to life, outstretching a hand to his shoulders. But it was nothing more than dumb reflex, and Kakashi had the momentum of the fall on his side. He swung his body down, veering to bring the full force of the fall into a kick to the back. In a short, deft motion, Kakashi jerked his right hand forward, catching the kunai he'd let go in mid-air over the man's head. Then, only centimetres separated stone-cold kunai, from heat-radiating head. The man was pinned down by Kakashi's knee, face pressed into the dirt. Kakashi lifted his brows, satisfied, and bought the blade to the rogue's neck.

"Shigekura Monoe. The sand have tracked you for a long time. You're under arrest."

"What the f—you're not the sand?"

"No. Konoha, at your service." He dipped his head lazily.

"Ko..noha? Fancy that. And look at me, all geared up to take on some Gaara-level, sand assassin." _Talkative, this one._

"Buut you still failed to sense me." Kakashi added thoughtfully.

"Great minds think alike. I'm disappointed about that too. I'm distraught. Imagine the pay cut these guys all get."

 _What?_

The shadows beneath the trees writhed alive, and they slunk out: a slew of faces covered by the same, black mask, sides armed neatly with the same, hooked kunai. Twenty or so odd men circled Kakashi and the apparently, fabulously-rich rogue nin.

 _Ah. Nothing like a bout of angry bone-breaking to get over your post-teaching loneliness._

 _Pathetic._

* * *

Notes:

Thanks,

Last Kakashi fic for the year! I've five chapters planned. I just finished editing this and...who hurt you, Kakashi? Geez I made him so bitter. Takes place between the two year time-skip. No, Kakashi is not part of the ANBU, he's just taking very big missions.

Reviews keep me going, one or two words would be fab.

-earl


	2. Wounds not licked

Not prologue, actual chapter.

Thanks.

* * *

 **Wounds not licked.**

The long days of the summer were basking, glowing; and they mellowed as the green leaves dulled, botched with the colours of the sunsets that drew nearer and nearer all the time. The long days were ending, and it was as if the last light of the summer, the golds and yellows and oranges, came flocking down from the tree tops in their throngs. Stripping them bare in slow motion. They danced, carried by the breeze in an elusive flutter before they paved the ground in gold.

All it took was another shudder of wind, and a few more crinkled leaves dropped from the skies. They floated gently in his wake, covering a telling colour—too late for the season. The surly man ambled forward, not bothering to cover the trail of blood he left behind.

Their blood on his knuckles.

His blood on the ground.

He walked at his leisure, his one, uncovered eye bored and seemingly oblivious to the gash on his right arm. _Haah. A-grade my ass. What was that guy's name?_ 'Shigekura Monoe' was graciously overestimated- B at best. The two dozen bodyguards though? _Hm._

The _medics take one look at this, I'll be out of action for half a month._

Finally, the one eye fell onto the gash as if the man were deeply bothered to even look. He tottered to a stop, regarding the leaking mess more like a curious child studying a grazed knee, than someone who was, _well_ , brutally lacerated. His left hand clasped over the wound, and he held it there a couple moments. Suddenly, as if trying to trick himself, 'don't tell me when the pain will come just do it'- style, he tightened his grip with a shock. Agony shot forth. Blood dampened his uniform.

 _Ok...good start...'Least that'll stop the blood flow._

He could almost see Gai's bawling face stuck through his window.

 _No Kakashi! This cannot be! We will resume our rival match once you're at full power! Youth, Kakashi, Youth!_

 _God yes. No._

Yes to the 'rival fight' cancellation. No to…youth.

 _Fix my kami-damned window, Gai!_

He'd be thirty soon, he realised, and he shrugged mentally at the thought. Only some twenty years as a ninja, huh? It felt so much longer. And he felt so much older. It didn't help that he had silver hair and an old-timey mask. He could chant the old rules like it was on the back of his hand. The ones no one cared about anymore. To the new ninja today, the young, green: the genin and chunin, he might as well be ancient.

And that was what his sharingan was for. He could see the future, and it was bright.

The generation gap was miles apart. Kids could grow up slow and silly; worry about grades or cry over a grazed knee, play soldier in their backyards, and war was a game. They threw tantrums over losing games, rather than over the bodies of dead comrades.

No ghosts visited their dreams. And they didn't need to wake up in the middle of the night, writhing and gasping for breath, drowning in their own rooms.

They didn't need a reflex that killed first and asked questions later. They didn't need to train themselves into a constant state of paranoia, deliberate and suffocating, not a breath to spare.

They didn't know a single name etched upon the great gravestone of Konoha, and certainly no need knowing names like his. Copy-nin Kakashi was still young, and a relic. Marvellous. Incredulous. He couldn't have hoped for better.

Time passed. Kakashi treaded deep amidst a thick silence. The leaves that blanketed the floor crunched under his footsteps, and for a long while, they were the loudest sound around him.

A bright glint flashed through his eyes. His pupil dilated. In a sudden, deft movement, Kakashi ripped his body backwards in an instantaneous jolt—narrowly missing a kunai that would have sped clean through his throat. _Oh._ His own reflex caught him off guard, and the lurch backwards made him loose balance. Instead, he followed the movement naturally, toppling over and propelling his feet off the floor. One bloody hand planted into the ground, and he pushed up from a back hand-spring. The kunai pierced a tree trunk with a loud 'thock' before he landed.

 _What the hell?_

Blood oozed from his gash. _Ow._ He turned his arm up toward him. _Ow, ow._ Suddenly, another shower of shrunken came cutting through the bushes, and they landed languidly before him, pinning leaves to the floor. Not aimed at him.

 _Well._

A fight was going on near him.

 _What to do?_

He could call for reinforcements. But how long would they take to get here? Here, was the middle of nowhere. He could deploy a shadow clone, but it would lack vitality thanks to his injury.

Some sullen part of him, somewhere close to where he kept his festering cynicism, he honesty wanted to thank that arm of his. _Thanks, right arm._ Obito would have been proud.

 _Hell, I could just walk away,_ he thought, as he walked towards someone else's fight.

* * *

Notes:

Thanks for reading.

Ohh. That...that looks glaringly short...sorry. The thing is, I wrote this entire fic without chapter breaks or anything, so I had to break it up separately and now the chapters are a tad uneven. Longer stuff coming up.

-earl


	3. Rogue number two

**Rogue number two.**

The forest was near-ancient; and the yellowing trees rose from the grounds like towers, casting gangling shadows over the ninja. He peeked out. A field of strangely shaped rocks bloomed into view. They upheaved the ground and leaves, poking out from different angles in a jagged, dust basin. And jumping about each indented mound, was a girl with pink hair, clenched fists.

 _Sakura?_

Not far away, another ninja lay unconscious against one of the jutting rocks. _Ino._

The last one standing flit away from another shrunken flying her way, furiously dodging the stone village ninja. Upon a sideways squint, a jaded roll of his eye, Kakashi made out the slashed-through stone insignia on the man's metal forehead protector.

 _Another rogue._

 _How, very, quaint._

Going cray cray seemed to be back in fashion these days. How many more rogues were lurking behind the next bush? Who else was he going to come across today? Uchiha Sasuke?

 _Earth type ninja,_ he guessed, if the upheaved terrain was any indicator. The rock beneath Sakura crumbled from a paper bomb, and she darted over several paces, moving as the enemy moved; not leaving a single opening. _Well, she can do this indefinitely,_ Kakashi thought sourly. He was watching her evade certain death, but still, Kakashi couldn't stifle the guilty sort of pride that blossomed within him. There was fight in her eyes, and focus in her chakra. Ino had bit the dust— _literally,_ he gathered—but his student wasn't about to leave any man behind.

Sakura landed again, but this time she crumpled a little; and she masked the misstep by crouching down. _Smart, but pointless._ She couldn't feign any longer. By now she was panting to catch her breath, and the stone-nin was bigger, stronger—probably toying with the genin. He was tiring her out, perhaps, to save for fighting a little girl.

 _Wow._

Sakura looped a finger around a kunai behind her back, eyeing the stone-nin all the time. The stone-nin smiled back gentlemanly. He drew out a kunai-sized weapon. But as he flaunted it before her, her brows furrowed in confusion. The stone-nin had bought out a black katana hilt, but it was completely blade-less. Just a hilt, no edge to it whatsoever.

 _Hn, that's not ominous at all._

Sakura looked to the downed Ino. She tightened her grip on the kunai. There was no where to run, only to fight. Elongated shadows shifted on his face, and Kakashi lifted his head-protector. With one nod forward, his world plunged into crimson. The sharingan spun into life, rampant in it's socket, and he put his sight on his student. He'd seen enough—whoever this guy was had no qualms about stomping genin, and he wasn't about to let the stone-nin draw a single drop of Sakura's blood.

* * *

The stone-nin's slack grip on the katana hilt tightened, and within a second, dust flew in the place where he stood.

 _Where!?_ Sakura jerked up, her hands flying to protect her centre as the ninja flounced inches before her.

 _Hn!_ The stone-nin bore down on her with the blade-less hilt, and Kakashi flinched as Sakura parried it away. The sharingan was spinning wild and Kakashi was _itching_ to rush to her side.

But, _she can do this._

His high spirit's faltered. The stone-nin was counting on that, and he knocked the kunai away easily. But he didn't strike her again, instead clasping her hand in his. Sakura recoiled, and raised her other fist. But he caught that as well, and now they both clasped onto the blade-less katana. Something was wrong.

 _Hell, of course something was kami-damned wrong!_ A glow emanated from the hilt as it pulled both the stone-nin and Sakura's chakras into it. And then it burst alit, a fire growing from the hilt. It crackled in a rage, flames spewing up into the air and lighting up both ninja's faces: one contorted with an ugly grin and the other dawning with a fear.

The stone-nin spoke, "Well I took all the effort to acquire this so-called treasure, I wanted to have at least one good use of it before I headed back—wanted to see how forbidden it was, yeah?"

He tilted his head back, looking the katana like an adoring child who'd just spent their life savings on a toy. "The answer is—hella."

"Nghh!" Sakura hung her weight on the katana and the stone-nin's hands, and raised both feet off the ground. With one great swing, she heaved for a kick. But the ninja swung her to the side, tossing her away before she landed. "Kueghh!—"

The stone-nin appeared before her, the katana forged of flames scorching the ground as he dragged it behind him, burning the dust and heating up the air into a suffocating inferno. "Pretty katana, isn't it?" Sakura didn't take her eyes off him, feeling around for a weapon, something, anything. Her hands settled on a shuriken thrown earlier, and she held it as if it were a kunai, able to slice him in one shot. She couldn't.

"Hm." The stone-nin clasped left hand over right, and slashed the flame katana over Sakura. She jolted alive, fire reflecting in her eyes as she slunk under it, outstretching her shuriken. _'I'm not going to make it.'_

In a short, adroit movement, in an instantaneous flash of silver, Hatake Kakashi broke the inches between the katana made of flames, and sakura's singeing back—one hand lurching her off her feet out of range, and the other planting firm on the ground, spurting blood as the pressure shifted. His feet were in the air and he parried away the katana by kicking it's hilt, knocking the flames off it's trajectory. The stone-nin's eyes balked, and he wheeled backwards. Kakashi sprang back, Sakura wrapped in his arms, her clothes soaking up his blood.

"Hn— _Kakashi-sensei!?"_ She stared up wide-eyed and mouth parted at him, heart pounding against his hold and voice breathless from shock, or adrenaline, or both.

"Forgive me for bursting into your fight, Sakura, but please, let sensei handle this." The lines on his mask stretched, and he smiled heartily as he set her down. "That looks like a very fancy—albeit a very _forbidden_ sword to me."

Sakura's disbelief lapsed, and she furrowed her brows, looking forward again. "Yeah. I had no idea what it was supposed to do until now—Ino and I were deployed to deliver that thing to a monastery. Probably to be locked away. But it happens to be super popular with rogue ninja."

 _Apparently, so am I._

Kakashi pricked up at that anyway. "He's not the only one?"

"Ino made the other one jump off a cliff…He lived though! He lived—Ino made sure!" She quickly regurgitated, at Kakashi's surprised face.

"Ah…"

Kakashi tensed up for the next attack, but the stone-nin leaped to a jagged rock, putting both hands on the katana again. For a moment, the flames licked back, and he concentrated his energy. "He's…feeding it more chakra." _Well what kind of a counter-productive, chakra-hungry forbidden weapon was that? Sage of six goddamn paths._

His thoughts turned to Sakura. "Thanks for tiring him out for me. You can stand down now. I got this." He gave her that wry smile again.

"Sensei…" She said strenuously, not really looking at Kakashi. "…You're bleeding."

"Hnn, ya." _That tended to happen when you assuringly flung yourself into ambushing a crime boss, before being out-ambushed by more ambushers—who were not part of his assigned 'to ambush' black list._ Kakashi wan't about to tell her that; and even _that_ sounded nicer than— 'my assassination mission went sideways.' He was out of children to teach, and business went on. Kakashi was simply asked to pick up where he left off. And where he left off, in simple terms, was not…child-friendly enough. (Not that Sakura was a young child anymore...but, still.)

"I—eughh, tripped, on the way here. Beware them trees, some are apparently meticulously sharp."

"Kakashi-sensei…"

The clink of the katana drew back their attentions. "Glad to make your acquaintance, Konoha ninja. It's not often people like me can get a chance at taking down big fish like you."

"Sakura, thank the nice man—that's quite a compliment. Sensei is proud."

She looked clean away from the enemy, squinting instead at Kakashi. The stone-nin twitched slightly. "You. You're Copy-nin Kakashi, no? Konoha's not-so-secret, genius killer. Heh, I've never seen the sharingan before, this is some kind of an honour." He lifted a brow, bowing his head in a jeering.

 _Yeah, it is, you'll never have another chance to see it after today._ "Gratitude, usually people diagnose me with pink eye. No matter, it's rather flattering to receive so many names of doctors in town." At this, Sakura stifled a chuckle. "Kuh…Pfffffttt…"

"So, Sakura, standard code, we have an unprovoked enemy in front of us, from the looks of things. How should we proceed?"

Sakura bobbed her head, skimming hand over her hair out of habit. She was calming down, her heartbeat settling, her breathing no longer rigid. The fear that gripped her before had evaporated, and she could afford to drop her guard around Kakashi. _Not smart,_ he'd later remind her, but for now, _Good. She'll be fine._

 _"Erhm…_ standard procedure is to offer him a cease-fire…you know—non-violence, and we can part ways fine if he leaves the weapon…But…right, he _is_ a rogue ninja so we have to arrest him, actually. Number twenty-something—rogue ninja of any nation are to be apprehended with reasonable force, if they are, or, or are not affiliated in some way with the mission. Exceptions depend on the severity of said mission, and the current capacity of the team…I think. And then we have to alert the village or something."

"A+, Sakura."

Kakashi wondered whether they left out the fine print in the academy these days— _all rogue ninja at A-B rank, kill on sight._

 _Great._ If this guy was so much as a B, he might have a tough time _apprehending him with reasonable force_ , considering he was rapidly losing feeling in his right arm. The weight he had briefly put on it had ripped it wider, and he doing everything to stop it from visibly shaking. _Not good. Please be as sucky a weapon as I thought you were, flame-sword._

"Yeah? Come at me then. Both you and the runt take your best shot. Heh, come!"

 _Come at me? No one actually says that in the field,_ Kakashi thought.

"Come at me? Geez you actually say that in the field?" Sakura said out loud. Somewhere within her, she wanted to scream out 'that's such bad form—inviting the opponent to attack first,' as well, and then cite it with credible sources. Now it was Kakashi's turn to stifle a giggle, and the mask served it's purpose.

But the stone-nin stood unfazed on the rock, and with one great surge of chakra, he swung the blade diagonally. A wave of flames dragged across before him, and it sizzled with a simmer. He drew back, amused. It was evident to the Konoha ninja: the flames had grown more unruly, the fire had extended, and the blade was longer now, more deadly. If Sakura was hit with this before, there wouldn't have been a near-miss. Kakashi would have been lit into a bonfire, and Sakura would be promptly cremated.

"Well, you heard Mr. rogue nin, I could hardly turn down his invitation. That would be bad manners. And on missions, remember, we all have to represent our respective villages." Kakashi said in his sensei-voice. He dropped it. "Sakura, you've done more than enough. But rest now, I'm good…you can watch my back, alright?"

* * *

 **Glossary**

Katana- sword

Sensei- teacher

Kami-god (kami-damned/ goddamned etc)

Nin/ Rogue-nin- I dunno, if you listen to the japanese anime dubs, 'ninja' is shortened to 'nin.'

* * *

Alsyncrasy- Thanks for your kind words! Must not let you down!

Prescripto13 -Yeeeeeaaah hey man! Was hoping that you'd find this- thank you for your thoughts. A lot of dark humour in this one hehe...

* * *

 **Notes**

Thank.

I don't know why I thought the 'flame-sword' was original at first...clearly it's a ninja lightsaber, right?

But then I just—does anyone know Rurouni Kenshin? (Love RK, I've written fanfics for that too...) Because I basically described Shishio's 'Mugenjin' sword. Ah well, hope it's interesting enough...

I'm gone in two days, (holidaying, yay!) so expect this entire fic to be done by then.

Drop a review if you thought it was ok. Thank you for reading.

-earl


	4. Man on Fire

Looks like it's time for another **Disclaimer:** This work is in no way affiliated with Maasashi Kishimoto or the Naruto franchise. If I had any stake in Naruto, I would kindly put in word to not milk the series dead. *Please see _—_ _8_ canon episodes of shippuden this year* Please enjoy.

* * *

 **Man on Fire.**

"Sakura, you've done more than enough. But rest now, I'm good…you can watch my back, alright?"

He took a step forward: calculating the distance between him and the rogue-nin, the slope of the rock he was standing on, and how to splat his face against the ground without making Sakura have to close her eyes.

 _Can I afford a chidori? How many have I used today? Earth jutsu seem risky—he could potentially counteract moves so how—_

 _"—_ Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gripped on the sleeve at his elbow. She wasn't looking at him, though. Her green eyes were staring blankly at the small pattern of blood at his side. A tremor began to run through his arm, making the droplets fall as red dribbled down. _Plik, plik, plik._

 _Ow._

"…You're really hurt."

"And this guy is really rogue."

"Kakashi- _sensei_." She tore her fingers away, clenching her hands into fists at her sides. Her knuckles were grazed, flaring red. Kakashi sighed lazily, hoping it would ease her.

"It's alright Sakura, I've taken things in way worse condition, heheh. We can't let this guy take the forbidden sword—who knows how he'll pawn it. Besides, he stole a great bit of chakra from you, didn't he? Best watch Ino, I can take this."

"You said I could watch your back just a minute ago."

"…You can, if you wish."

Sakura creased her brow. She fumbled into her back pouch, producing a pair of black gloves, and she pulled them on, pursing her lips as it slipped past her injured knuckles.

"I've got more than enough chakra to fight. I'm going in as your second."

Kakashi didn't so much as move, but the intense liveliness in his eyes faltered, tiring his face.

"And no, I don't forgive you." She said blatantly. Kakashi raised a brow, slightly taken aback.

"You said it yourself—this is my fight and you burst in on it."

It seemed so incredulous, in that moment—after her _famous?_ , bleeding sensei's timely arrival to save her skin, he's at fault and she'd insist to keep fighting. But Sakura was far from ignorant, and she could see the incline in Kakashi's shoulders. His left arm was lifted ever so slightly and his right weighed him down. Other than the encounter with the nefarious, off-the-charts-insane Zabuza of the mist, she'd never seen anyone so much as put a scratch on Kakashi. His blood was cold where it had soaked into her shirt. She could only imagine the pain he was in, lifting her and moving that fast.

"He's a wind-type ninja—all these shrunken he's been throwing at me are laced with razor-sharp wind-element."

 _Wind?_

That was strange. The terrain was strange. _Wind and earth manipulation?_ Strange combo. _Or was it?_

 _"_ Fine, Sakura," He stated defeatedly, "you're going to keep behind me and support my right side. Any time I create an opening, or he slips up, you go in for a blow—then retreat. _Immediately._ Ok?"

"Yessir."

With that, Kakashi bent his knees a slight, and within another half-moment, his shadow disappeared, reappearing behind the stone-nin. "Hngh!" The man ducked as Kakashi swivelled in mid-air, kicking into nothing, before the stone-nin raked his katana from left-to-right, towards his centre. But a paper bomb landed as Kakashi missed the strike, and it blew up the stone mound just as the stone-nin tried to hit back. _Thanks, Sakura._ From the corner of his eye, Sakura was keeping close, scooping up stray shuriken and kunai, another paper bomb hanging in her mouth. The stone-nin kicked up from the ground, readying the katana. Kakashi lurched forward with a fist, but retracted as the flames rose up to graze his side. The stone-nin spun around, kicking Kakashi on his right as he dodged the fire.

" _Knngh_ —Sakura!"

He sped out of the way, and a hail of shuriken flew towards the stone-nin. To their surprise, he stood firm on the ground: blocking each shuriken with the blade forged of flames. Each weapon bounded off the solid surface engulfed by fire, and they flung off with a _'clang.'_

 _Tangible. It's tangible._

But the stone-nin was careless, and the last one that rebounded was tied to another paper bomb. It set off, blowing up dust, and his attention swayed towards his left. _Opening._ Kakashi sped to his right, dragging a kunai into his shoulder, hoping to pin him down. The stone-nin swivelled back, hardly bothered, and thrust the blade in his direction. The flames writhed forward, but the blade was _tangible._ Kakashi blocked it easily.

 _Clang, clang, clang._ _Strike up, to the left, downwards—duck down!— jab collar bone, knee to solar plexus, strike left, slash down, neck jab, neck jab—punch._

* * *

Sakura stood by, waiting to support, but the barrage of strikes were thrown in such quick succession that the movements blurred—one movement seemingly flowing into the other, no action put to waste. Each one pummelled the stone-nin, deliberate yet erratic. Jabs precise like needles. Kicks heavy yet focused. No two moves were ever repeated in the same way; and similar looking strikes feigned defence when they were offence. Sakura couldn't follow, so she concentrated on the ground. For a strange moment, she realised Kakashi's footfalls: the peculiar positions he held himself, the way he stepped uncannily over nothing. A realisation occurred, and she drew in a breath. Kakashi was adjusting his steps, as if leaving room for bodies to fall and treading around them, forging forward, almost dodging blood spatter that didn't fly. He used the kunai to block the flame katana, but Sakura knew—if he wanted to, if he tried—that same kunai would have killed the man five times over.

 _Clang, clang, clang; crack, crack, bam._

 _Block, attack; block, counter, jab up._

* * *

The blows threw him back, and the man was swinging the flames turbulently, out of control. Suddenly, he thrust forward blind lunge, and Kakashi banked left but—

 _Fuuton, wind-style: wide gust._

The sharingan convulsed in it's socket, dizzying him. A mighty gust of wind blew out from the stone-nin, lurching the flames forward in a greedy crackle. _What do you know? Wind element accompanies fire-style nicely...A+,_ he awarded begrudgingly. They brushed past Kakashi, burning away his navy uniform, lapping at his bare skin. "GUH!"

"NO!"

Sakura's fear-ridden voice rang loud in his mind, making him scared too. He threw his head back in pain, the fire drying his blood as it spilled. It burned the gash on his right arm, leaving the rest of his skin red. The navy sleeve singed away into nothing, snaking the flames up his body like a fuse—igniting the rest of him.

 _"_ _KAKASHI-SENSEI!"_

But as soon as Sakura lunged forward, the man on fire vanished in a guise of smoke. She skidded to a stop before a flaming log. _Substitution no jutsu._ A wave of cold washed over her, and she tore her eyes off to find the enemy again. _Stupid!_ Sakura stopped in her tracks, sweat trailing down her face as an intense heat warmed her back. She swivelled. Fire reflected in her eyes, and she could only fling her arms up to protect her face as a jet of flames blew forward.

 _Doton: Doryu-heki no jutsu—mud wall._

The ground beneath her withered, rocking her back a few steps, and a wall of earth rose several feet above her, taking the full force of the jet of flames. It blasted the earthen wall, the force of it crumbling off the edges in flakes and spewing off the sides, enclosing Sakura in a half-dome of fire. _No._ She was doing more harm than help—if she couldn't dodge the attacks she was nothing but a hindrance to Kakashi. A hindrance to an injured Kakashi with one arm to use and almost-depleted chakra.

The jutsu stopped, and the stone-nin coiled back. Now _he_ was gasping for breath. _The fuuton/ wind jutsu took a lot out of him,_ Sakura thought, filing away the information. The grounds around her were blackened by the heat, and she hurried back to the cover the jutting rocks provided. She had clenched her eyes shut, the orange flames of the fire still glaring behind her eyelids. A hand laid upon her shoulder, flinching back quickly as she jerked aware. Kakashi slumped beside her, collapsing his left side onto the rock.

"Sakura! You— _eugh-_ "

"Kakashi-sensei!? I'm fine, _I'm fine,_ but stop—we need to call for back up or something you can't—"

"You're unscathed?" He sighed between pants. The fearful urgency vanished from his eyes, like smoke, and he shut his sharingan for a moment, leaning into a more leisurely position.

"Good. _Gasp._ Good. _Gasp._ We're fine.

" _Gasp."_

Sakura clenched her jaw, quelling the need to bite into her cheek, drawing blood. There was no better cue to cry, and she would have already, if it were back then. _Reinforcements?_ Sakura knew that was no option now. The stone-nin had a fully charged forbidden weapon, knew how to use it; and to top it all off, had the exact, convenient skill to amplify it. _Great._ This was not like in the textbooks. She was a straight A student when it came to theory, but she wondered whether there was any theory that could help her through this right now. _Exhausted sensei and amateur against rogue nin. Explain, using jutsu hand-seals, how to best disarm the opponent. Show all working._

"Sensei."

"Hn? Yeah?"

"I can get him. I always could, but he's too fast for me. My plan with Ino was to slow him down, tire him out until I can get a hit, but he turned that against us." Kakashi slumped intently, like the trail of smoke wafting from his burn wasn't anything out of the ordinary. He ignored the smoke, putting his full attention on Sakura, and she winced for him. She furrowed her brow, turning her attention away from his searing gash back to his one eye.

"If you can get me close enough to him—without the possibility of him escaping, I can end this."

Kakashi opened his sharingan, regarding her for a moment. The stone-nin's pants were slowing behind them.

 _"_ _One hit?_ " He repeated calmly.

Sakura nodded once, a conviction in her stance. The leather gloves stretched over her clenched fists.

"….Alright."

* * *

 **Notes**

Might have punned. Who is the 'Man on Fire?'

(1) Kakashi, the one who is literally lit on fire, or (2) Rogue Stone-nin, whose jutsu is on a damn roll?!

Vote now.

—

The deleted title for this was 'It's Clobbering time.' But because of the big flop that was 'Fan4stic' this year, I decided against it.

I really wish Mr. Kishimoto could have worked a little more on the female characters. Hopefully I can bring something good to Sakura's character in this Kakashi story.

(...Kakashi is one of my all-time favs of and you might have noticed he's the only naruto character I write for. Um, eh, I'll put this in on a whim. I have a giant Sasuke-centric story that I've planned out for literally years. Next year, I'm going to finally start writing it. I'll put this here to give myself some motivation because I really do want to start on that already! Fear not— Kakashi is ofc the second main protagonist. Will post when I'm partway through arc 1, so will take a while...end rant...)

How was the chapter? Thank you so, so much for reading!

-earl


	5. Forged through Flames

**Forged through Flames**

"Never meet your heroes—or your legends. They'd only let you down in the end." The stone-nin said, pointing the tip of the flaming blade in every direction he turned. Each stroke drew a line of fire through the air before it trailed back to the katana. His eyes flickered in a tentative anticipation, to the ground, to the trees, and to the rocks.

"I wonder what would be of more value to me—the Copy-nin's head, that stolen sharingan it contains, or this flame blade?" He scoffed, cocking his eyes without turning his head. His voice was a low warning. "…I'll burn this _bloody place_ to the ground, Konoha-nin. Finding a pathetic bingo-booker like you while playing with those girls was just my _bloody_ luck. C'mon, Konoha…You're wasting my time!"

A thick silence mocked him.

"…disappointed."

With that, he rolled his eyes and turned his back. Each step sounded closer to the rocks, yet further away from where Sakura was hidden. Her blood ran cold in her veins: an almost clunky pulsation.

 _He's going towards Ino._

The plan dissipated from her head. Sakura leaped out of the thicket of rocks, scooping another spent shuriken off the ground. It flung it carelessly towards the man. He merely stepped aside, avoiding it as if wafting away a fly. _Now come towards me, to me!_ The stone-nin stared squarely at Sakura. His face was blank. He turned away. The stone-nin strided towards the unconscious Ino. _No. No. No._

Sakura gritted her teeth, her chakra swelling within her as she pulled it to her feet, letting out one echoing call. "Hey! Shinobi Rule number 6—never turn your back on the _bloody_ enemy!"

Pink hair tousled back sharply as the small girl sprang forward—towards the armed man. He faced her, almost _impressed,_ holding up the weapon to meet her kunai with a slight glee. They met with another _clang_ and Sakura was thrown back. The stone-nin fought wearily, slashing the katana in continuous strokes so as to not create a single opening. Sakura swayed left and right, dodging the strikes precisely…too closely. A gloved hand raced to put out fire where it singed hems of her clothes, and she knew then the man wasn't trying to drive her through—he was only trying to light her ablaze.

* * *

 _"_ _Follow the plan, and don't stray. Understand?"_

 _"_ _Yessir, Kakashi-sensei."_

* * *

This was not part of the plan. But Ino was not about to be cooked alive on their mission. She couldn't get a hit, she couldn't get a clean hit, but her opponent's movements were slowing again, becoming more sluggish.

She remembered Kakashi's footfalls.

Sakura changed her movement, striking a hit to the inside of the man's calve, unbalancing him just enough. A brief opening flit by. There was no time to lose, no time to summon her full chakra. Sakura poked out her middle knuckle in her clenched fist, like she'd seen Kakashi do; and hurled it under the stone-nin's collar bone, where she'd seen Kakashi strike. The stone-nin's eyes widened, a sharp pain registering on his face as the already injured spot throbbed under her jab.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI?!"

 _The plan!_

* * *

 _Crack._

The ground before the stone-nin cracked apart, sending minuscule ravines through the earth, and a gloved fist emerged from the dust. Kakashi sprang from underground, one outstretched hand under the stone-nin's chin. It scraped his chin as he evaded the attack, but the force of it knocked him backwards. Immediately, fire encircled him as the rogue got up. The flame katana was held to the ready, his left hand forming a hand seal. His eyes locked on the Kakashi.

A drop of sweat landed next to spots of blood. Kakashi threw up his own seal; the cold fingers on his right hand met the warmth of the ones on the left.

"Kage bunshin no jutsu."

The man smirked, disgusted. "No matter how many Copy-nin's you conjure up, none of you can do a _bloody_ thing anymore."

"Just one." Kakashi answered airily.

"One, _bloody_ thing." The other Kakashi nodded agreeably.

The two Kakashi's turned to each other, locking eyes. One sharingan revolved as the other shut. _Step 3 complete._

Kakashi smiled lazily through his mask, haunching over. Not another moment had passed, but the other Kakashi's hands flew into a haze, performing barely-recognisable hand seals at a speed that was jarring to behold. _Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger; snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger._

 _Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu. (Fire style, great fireball )_

The stone-nin's eyes blinked wide, and he hastened his own jutsu.

 _Fuuton: Wide gust._

Fire usurped the grounds, meeting in the middle in one, flaming inferno. The fiery blast scorched the clearing black and spit flames high into the air. They were at stalemate. No fire could breach the other. But the sharingan was whirling in Kakashi's eye now, all the power he had left surging in one motion, and he exhaled, holding his ground.

 _"_ _Fuuton: Wide gust."_ Kakashi muttered.

"Funny." The stone-nin muttered.

The wind jutsu hit the gokakyu no jutsu. Kakashi's fire spasmed amok, flames lapping forward into the stone-nin's fire, swallowing it whole. One jutsu engulfed the other, one fire more hot.

"Very _funny."_ He huffed, unable to breathe properly after the wind-jutsu. He'd been reciting his name all the time. _Copy-nin Kakashi,_ the man who copied a thousand jutsu.

"—One thousand and _bloody one_."

The stone-nin looked up, shrouded in orange. His eyes widened. A tinge of pink hair loomed from the dissipating flames, lighting up the silhouette of a girl with clenched hands, a fist pulled back.

"Sha. Na. RO!"

* * *

 _Before._

 _Gokakyu no jutsu spilled from the other Kakashi. The real Kakashi ended the wind style technique, his red eye slowing in it's socket as he swivelled. He knit his fingers together, crouching low._

 _"_ _Sakura! Manoeuvre 4!"_

 _"_ _Hahh!" Sakura charged, jumping into Kakashi's palms, and he threw her up, propelling her above the flames._

 _"_ _Fly."_

* * *

She slammed down on him, driving the stone-nin into the ground where it split under her force. A second delay; and a flurry of rocks upheaved from the ground around the epicentre, jutting out the earth to face the air, like teeth at the ebb. Kakashi stood there, staring, mesmerised by her strength as she disappeared under the rising rocks.

The flames disappeared, leaving cinders to glow on the stones, and an all-too-familiar pattern on the grounds. An all-too-familiar pattern that surrounded them. An all-too-familiar pattern that laid waste to the barren terrain. The realisation dawned on him like the sun. The stone-nin didn't retract Kakashi's wall jutsu. He wasn't an earth type ninja. He didn't create the torn-up terrain.

Sakura did.

That's why he kept his distance, using only meagre wind-laced kunai until the flame sword could take enough chakra. He used an amount of Sakura's colossal chakra too. Sakura had inherited Tsunade's monstrous power.

 _Speaking of chakra…_

The two Kakashis' suddenly spasmed, both jolting to clutch at their centres in unison. One dropped to a knee; the other crashed head-first into the ground before puffing away into smoke. _Scratch what I thought before. I'm not going to be seeing another mission for…months._

 _Eh, it's ok, I can still ambush cronies as an arm-amputee…right?_

His blood was dripping slower, the wound _close-enough to ok._

* * *

Yeah Prescripto- thanks for your thoughts. I'm glad Kakashi didn't turn out too cold because he wanted Sakura to fight her own fight. And yay- the humour seems to be working! XD

* * *

 **Notes**

So, Kakashi actually copied the 'Fuuton: wide gust' from the previous chapter, and he performs it here.

I'm afraid I lied back in chapter 1. This is a six-chapter story. One more to go!

Sooo, who is 'Forged through Flames?' (A) Sakura, or (B) the flame sword? You decide.

Thanks.

-earl


	6. Half team seven

**Half team seven**

 _"—_ _SEI !"_

 _Huh?_

 _"_ _Kakashi-SENSEI?!"_

 _Oh._

He was about to curl over and accept that at near-30, he was losing his touch. _What? 20-something ambushers, a B-rank and a…whatthehell was he? A 'B' in the end?…I come out half dead in front of my ge—er—chunin student. 30 soon. T'was the average life expectancy back in the day. Hah._

 _Wow._

 _"_ Sensei?! Hey—sensei? Deep breaths, take deep breaths…can you open your eyes? Look at me, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi cracked open his one eye, finding the girl's blurry face tight-lipped, ridden with that familiar look of suppressed concern. _Even my students have to act tough for my sake. Nice, Kakashi. 'Bloody'—_

 _Woah. Not…using that. Ugh._

Sakura dropped the bladeless katana hilt beside them.

"Ok, just, just lean on me, lean on—"

To his own surprise, he took her advice rather faster than he would have liked. Kakashi collapsed onto her side. He could hear her breath quicken as she dragged him over, propping him up against a jutting stone.

"Good…good job, Sakura. You're…I'm proud. You shou—should take my spot in the bingo book." He grimaced, quickly disguising the pang of pain as a wry grin.

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"Did you…bind the guy?"

"…He's not going anywhere after that, Kakashi-sensei, I'm sure."

"…Ah, my bad. My bad."

"No."

She plod onto the floor next to him, opening and closing her mouth tentatively.

"…It's my fault," She said quietly. "I'm sorry. I did this. I couldn't keep Ino safe and she's out, and you're _so_ badly injured and I gave him more chakra and I still made you—"

"Sakura?!" He croaked. "Hey, you, we, caught the guy, didn't we?"

She nodded slowly.

"Ino's ok, isn't she?"

She nodded.

"I'm not dead yet, am I?"

She stopped, rubbing almost-tears away.

"None of this is your fault. You were on an under-manned, badly assigned mission." He frowned. "I think I'll need to have a word…with whoever it is that got you on this one…

"Besides, that's just stupid. I mean, I couldn't even resort to raikiri or even chidori I'm so drained—which is my fault. If anything, it's my fault that I couldn't take care of Mr. rogue-nin faster. My fault you don't have an _actual functioning team_ to take him down with."

 _Oh._ Was he going to say it? He just did.

"Bottom line is, I—"

He was cut off, Sakura's hair blowing in his face and her arms around his neck. Kakashi stiffened, looking forward at the dulling embers past her shoulder, the glow of the scorched field growing blacker. He haunched over her, lifting his remaining arm to embrace her back.

"This entire mess—I got the two of us into. The reason there's not four of us here. All the time I spent sensei-ing, I've done more harm than good. I'm sorry."

"No…" She whispered past him.

"…Forgive me, Sakura." No matter where he was in his life, he'd never seem to leave those particular words behind. "I'm so sorry."

" _Damn it, Kakashi-sensei._ " Her voice was one of mild annoyance as she pulled back, the light of disbelief on her face.

"Forget it. Just forget it. Your fault? Oh my GOD—what even? Things just…happen! Right?" She took a breath, starting to drone, "you and I didn't seal a monster into Naruto—need I remind you that we didn't, _oh I dunno_ , murder Sasuke's family. Even if we didn't have _any_ hand to play—with those two idiots! They'd still have ripped each other apart. At least like this we're all alive. We're all Ok...Oh, I don't know what I'm saying!"

 _That's right._

They were idiots.

All of them, really.

But they were all—Alive.

And they'd be ok. _Things will always turn out ok._

"Things will always turn out ok, Sakura. We just have to give it time. Give it time… _He'll_ be back soon. Sooner than you know."

She nodded again. "Time. Yeah.

"Time—and a hospital term, Kakashi-sensei."

* * *

His eyes rolled tiredly onto Sakura. But, she apparently only had eyes for his arm.

Kakashi's arm was torn: half-cauterised and stinging like hell. He was bleeding out, a dozen other injuries littered across his body.

"I need you to lift this up, _hey, listen,_ I need you to lift your arm for me."

 _I, huh?_

"Nnnghh…"

He slowly hovered it, hoping she couldn't see his skin jump where she prodded it. Sakura tugged off her ruined gloves.

"What are you…"

Kakashi's breath faltered. With the slightest inhale, chakra pooled to Sakura's palms, drenching their faces in a green glow. The scathes on her knuckles knitted together, repairing the damaged skin, and Sakura placed her hands over his wounds before they finished. Her touch was warm, delicate, and she moved his arm with a fragility. Within a few moments, his own wounds began to writhe: the burn marks were receding, the upturned skin falling back down as her aura numbed the sores. She stopped his bleeding in an instant.

Kakashi sat there, awed into silence by the power emanating from that small body. It seemed almost incredible to him, that such a gentle touch was also capable of momentous destruction. He hadn't had time to fully admire that in her before, _well_ —between keeping a shadow clone and _casting minor genjutsu over the pain:_

* * *

 _'_ _The two Kakashi's turned to each other, locking eyes. One sharingan revolved as the other shut. Step 3 complete.'_

* * *

Now?

He was so, damned _proud._

Pride bloomed from his chest, and he was enveloped in warmth.

* * *

"How's that? _Kakashi_?"

He peered at her, words of gratitude in his mouth.

" _Kakashi_?"

The hair his eyes fell upon was brunette, not pink.

"…Rin?"

"Kakashi? Hey, I'm asking you, you alright?"

Melancholy seeped into him. His voice cracked.

" _Rin…_ "

"That better? I can keep healing if you want, might do the pain some good, I dunno."

"…."

"Kakashi? Kakashi! Ka—

* * *

"Kakashi-senSEI! Am I, am I hurting you? Sensei! Hey—look at me, you…what are you…"

" _—_ _Sakura_?"

She stared at him, lips drooped in worry.

"…Sorry, I…I fell asleep there, for a second."

His eyes trailed to the green glow. Though redness still swelled, his arm had mended drastically in inhuman speed—to the extent that the scarring would be but a slight burn mark.

"You never told me you were a medic-nin now." He said, voice quivering.

"Yeah…surprise? Tsunade-sama is the best, so, yeah. I would've been garbage without her." She chuckled.

"N…You're amazing, you know. This kind of healing power—you're incredible."

"I'll make sure Tsunade-sama takes a look at you too, need to make sure I didn't leave any problems that'll, you know, leave you slowly crippled at 60 or something…"

 _60? Ah, no need to bother Tsunade-sama._

"Thanks, Sakura."

"Sooo…did you finish your mission then?"

"I uhh…" What did he tell her before? He got those wounds from scraping a tree branch? "Yeah. I did." _The main guy's dead._

"Who's Rin?"

Kakashi spasmed agape.

"You don't…really sleep well… at all, sensei." Sakura seemed taken aback by herself. "Er, I didn't mean—"

"Well…if I add that to another one of my 'faults,' they'll be none of me left, will there?"

She scowled, sighing with an irrationally pleased embarrassment. _Not the puns, sensei, not today._

"You don't need to know. Only…you know I visit the memorial often."Kakashi said slowly.

"Yeah?" _Everybody does._

"Rin was a friend. I pay my respects to her...amongst others too."

"Ohh."

He was glad she didn't add, 'sorry.'

He turned to her on a whim, throwing back the girl with brunette hair. He'll see her later.

"I want to teach you to fight."

"Eh?"

"If that's alright with Tsunade-sama, of course. I want to brush up your taijutsu. If you'd like, Sakura, after I get out hospital," _—shiver…_ "I'll train you a bit."

Pink hair jostled back as she lifted, beaming.

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei!"

Yeah, the generation gap was widening, and that was good. But the times took it's sweet time to change, and for now, he was still needed.

* * *

Suddenly, a blue flare shot above them from the distance, making Sakura flinch. She scrunched a paper bomb out of her pouch, and sent it flying to explode high in the air.

"There's the search party I called for. Yay—we probably get a ride home." She sighed. Sakura cocked her eyes without turning her head.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Uhuh?"

"How much are you worth, exactly?"

"…What?"

"In the bingo book. What's your bounty worth?" She mused.

Kakashi snickered, throwing his head back, "Ahehehhehehe—ow, hehe—owowowoww"

 _Hell? What am I worth?_

"I don't know. Actually. Hm."

Their eyes met, and suspicious squint twisted on both of them.

"Quick—before the rest of Konoha gets here Sakura, I need you to go knick Mr. Rogue-nin's bingo book."

"Yessir, got it. Watch Ino!"

She nodded importantly, and dashed off.

Kakashi smirked, resting his head back on the rock. Warm food and a rickety stretcher were only minutes away.

 _'_ _Least I'll always be worth something._

.

End.

* * *

 **Notes**

Just to clarify, Mr. Stone-nin is not dead! Just knocked out. Perhaps in a coma?

I hope that one part was not too hard to get- Kakashi used his shadow clone to put himself under genjutsu, and vice versa: that way, he won't feel any pain. Making fast seals with his right arm would hurrrrt.

"No matter where he was in his life, he'd never seem to leave those particular words behind."- this is actually a reference to another fic of mine- 'A man with no mother' (But no no, you don't need to read to understand.)

I actually planned this to be a short, short one shot (which ended up being only a tiny part hehe)- Kakashi is healed by Sakura and he mistakes her for Rin. (Out of delirium/blood loss or something.) That was the basis of this entire story. And then it spiralled out of control. This played out like a filler episode in the end...but hoopefully, with character development.

After Sakura's generation, there will truly be peace. They're almost there.

Many thanks for reading. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

(I'm going away this holiday, ahhhhh, so no more fics until next year~) Wish you guys all the best- Goodbye until next time!

-earl


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